Can Patricio Pitbull get the job done in his UFC debut?
After notching 30 fights under the Bellator MMA banner and capturing multiple world titles with the promotion, Pitbull will make his long-awaited Octagon debut this Saturday night at UFC 314 in Miami. There, the former two-division titleholder will meet ex-interim champ Yair Rodriguez in a fight that could produce the next featherweight title challenger.
As exciting as it is to finally see Pitbull make the walk to the Octagon, the fact remains that he’s a few short months away from turning 38 years, leaving many, including former middleweight king Michael Bisping, to wonder whether or not Pitbull can still compete among the best mixed martial artists in the world.
“Can the old guy get it done? Patricio Pitbull, 37 years old coming over from Bellator, where I think he was a four-time champion,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Biggest win probably (was) when he knocked out ‘Iron’ Mike Chandler in the very first round, vicious right hand. He’s got good jiu-jitsu, but he’s 37 years old. There’s a lot of wear and tear, there’s a lot of miles on the clock, and that’s not surprising when you look at the amount of experience.
“Forty-three professional fights, 36 wins, seven losses, but he has been knocked out twice. However, when you’ve fought that many times, there’s no problem with that. Of course, he’ll be taking on the one and only Yair Rodriguez, one of Mexico’s finest. This man is not to be underestimated. He fought for the belt before against Alexander Volkanovski, didn’t go his way, got stopped in the third round, and then he got stopped again against Brian Ortega. He’s trying to prove is he still relevant in the division” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Could Patricio Pitbull jump to the front of the line with a win at UFC 314?
With Ilia Topuria’s sudden departure from the division and no clear contender for the winner of Saturday’s featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes, ‘The Count’ believes that the winner of Pitbull vs. Rodriguez could produce the emerging champion’s next challenger.
“Are either of these guys going to be the next man to fight for the featherweight strap because guess what? That’s what’s at stake here,” Bisping continued. “One of these guys might be the next person to fight for the belt because Volkanovski wants to be active — that’s if he gets the job done.”
Pitbull goes into his promotional premiere having gone 1-2 in his last three outings, including back-to-back losses against Sergio Pettis and Chihiro Suzuki. Pitbull got back into the win column in March via a third-round TKO over Jeremy Kennedy at Bellator Champions Series 1 in Belfast.
